The Laziness Myth

I often hear about Laziness from People.

It is talked about in so many different contexts.

Leaders that Claim their Workforce is Lazy.

Employees talk about how their Leaders are Lazy.

Adults talk about how the Youth are so Lazy.

The Youth talk about how the Adults are being Lazy.

People call themselves Lazy when they crash on the Couch and Eat Desserts at the end of their day.

Within nearly every single Context where we hear people discussing Laziness, they all have a Single Thread that Connects them...

Laziness is seen as a Horrible Thing.

Now, what is the Laziness Myth?

Is the Myth that People are Lazy?

Actually no, we all are Lazy!

Leader and Employee.

Adult and Youth.

Myself Writing this, and you Reading this.

All of us are Lazy!

It's an inescapable Fact of Life.

So then what is the Myth?

The Myth is that being Lazy is Bad, or even Evil!

That is right!

Being Lazy is not Bad or Evil.

At least, not Inherently.

Laziness is simply a Truth of Life.

It is neither Good nor Evil.

It is neither Positive nor Negative.

Laziness just... is!

When you understand Energy (Mg-ATP) Dynamics in the Body, it is actually simple to understand.

The "technical" term for what we need to understand is Homeostasis.

In Simple Terms - The Body "Hates" Wasting Energy (Mg-ATP).

Its Goal is to Conserve as much Energy (Mg-ATP) as possible.

Or even simpler - The Body is Lazy!

But if the Body just "is" Lazy, then why do we "Demonize" being Lazy so Dramatically and Enthusiastically?

Well, there are 3 reasons.

One comes to us from Religions.

Christians especially have been big pushers against Laziness (I'm a Christian, so I can talk about the Flaws in Translation/Understanding), but some version of this Idea exists in all Religions.

Proverbs 13:4 - "The soul of the lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich."

That is just one example, and what King Solomon (believed to be the primary author) is "getting" at is "technically" correct, but there is a fundamental scientific misunderstanding that has taken nearly 3,000 years to unravel.

Back then the Idea was that you either did "good work" and therefore were "diligent", or you did not do "good work" and therefore were "lazy".

However, this has more to do with what you Produce (valid) than it has to do with Energy Spending (aka Homeostasis).

I'll get back to this in a moment.

The next reason we have attacked "Laziness" goes to the Industrial Revolution.

Similarly, the Industrial Revolution took these Ideas around "Production" to an Extreme.

If we are not "Working" then we are not "Producing", which in the Time-Bound Conveyor System popularized in the Industrial Revolution meant Less "Profit".

Though many good things came out of the Industrial Revolution, many of the Bad Things, including the Time = Money Myth, are sadly still carried into Today's World.

The final reason we continue to attack Laziness is because we equate it to Results, aka Production, instead of a Necessity of Energy Spending.

When we Tie the Concept of "Laziness" to a "Lack of Results", especially when we "Expect" Results, then it is easy to see why we attack it!

However, when we approach it from this Perspective, especially in Today's world, we Cause More Problems.

See, when people see a Lack of Results, they immediately think, "Lack of Results = Laziness" which then the Go-To Solutions become:

• Fire the "Lazy" Person
• Attack/Yell At the "Lazy" Person
• Hire more People we Hope are Not "Lazy"
• Change Leaders we think are "Lazy"
• Punish the "Lazy" Person
• Make the "Lazy" Person Work More

Even if that "Lazy" Person is yourself!

Where has this thinking gotten us?

To a Workforce that is in 80% Burnout.

To the worst Mental Health we have seen in History.

To a Decimation of Health and Fitness leaving us Sicker than ever.

All because we Buy into this Myth that Laziness = Lack of Production.

We then Sentence people to the Title of "Lazy".

Sometimes they never recover, and it becomes a Literal Death Sentence.

But what if we see "Laziness" for what it is, a Psychophysiological Necessity for Survival?

What if we completely Disconnect it from "Results"?

What does this Reveal to us?

It shows us that our Bodies desire to "only" Spend as much Energy (Mg-ATP) as is Necessary for Survival, we have a "Lazy" Homeostasis.

If we Direct our Energy (Mg-ATP) well, we get Results.

If we Fail to Direct well OR we Fail to Produce "Enough" Energy (Mg-ATP), then we do Not get Results.

"Laziness" then has nothing to do with Results, but Results become an Indicator if our "Laziness" is working With or Against us.

If we get the Results we Hope for, then our Laziness is Benefiting us.

If we are not getting the Results we want, then our Laziness is working Against us in One of Two ways:

• We are Failing to get Enough Energy (Mg-ATP)
• We are Directing Energy (Mg-ATP) to the Wrong Things

Instead of a Death Sentence, our inherent Laziness helps us start an Investigation.

Do we need to figure out how to get "More" Energy (Mg-ATP)?

Do we need to use our Energy (Mg-ATP) Differently?

Do we have an Energy (Mg-ATP) Leak that needs to be Repaired?

When we look at the World's landscape, we can Easily answer all of these Questions.

Burnout tells us that we need More Energy, need to use what little we have Differently, "and" that there are Leaks in need of Repair.

Laziness is not "Causing" Lack of Results.

Burnout is Forcing Humans to be "Lazy" in ways that don't Benefit them.

But if you Fix the Problems around Energy (Mg-ATP), then you can make Laziness work "for" you, which we often end up calling "Innovation".

Even when we look at the Peak of Productivity - Flow States - where Humans are "at least" 5x more Productive, what do we find?

Laziness.

See, the body literally Shuts Down certain Systems, to Optimize other Systems in Flow States.

This means certain systems are "Lazier" (use Less Mg-ATP) so other systems can be "Less Lazy" (use More Mg-ATP).

However, the entire system is attempting to maintain Homeostasis (use the Least amount of Energy Required... or be as Lazy as Possible).

See, Laziness is an Ally that has created a Biological Advantage for Humans.

When we treat Laziness as our Enemy, it becomes Self-Destructive.

We instead need to Understand "why" our Laziness is not Benefitting us, as it has done throughout History.

Instead of Demonizing Laziness, we need to turn it back into our Ally.

It's time to Shatter the Myth.